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| Bobby Bowden will have trouble running away with the ACC in the future. AP |
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Florida State |
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N.C. State
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Maryland
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Virginia
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Georgia Tech
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Clemson
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Wake Forest
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North Carolina
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Duke
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Record number of bowl bids given to ACC teams.
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"I saw them play against [Notre Dame] in that Rudy movie."
--Fresno State wide receiver Adam Jennings to the Fresno Bee, when asked if he knew anything about Georgia Tech, referring to the 1993 movie about former Notre Dame walk-on Rudy Ruettiger.
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By Tim Peeler, Special to CNNSI.com
It's fairly easy to put pen to paper -- or fingertip to keyboard -- and rip the ACC for having another down year, for becoming the BCS' newest Big East. But it's not true.
Yes, Florida State had its second four-loss season and backed its way into the BCS berth at the Sugar Bowl, becoming the first four-loss team to play in the New Orleans game since Alabama in 1945. No, there are no ACC teams ranked in the top 15 of either of the major polls. No, there is not a single team that is dominating the league right now.
But wasn't that always the criticism of the ACC, that it was Florida State and the Eight Dwarfs? Didn't everyone say that the league couldn't be taken seriously when one program stuck out so far above the rest?
Well, several teams in the league are close to catching up to Bobby Bowden's Seminoles. The problem is, no one has yet passed them. In the bigger picture, that means parity has come to the league, something that didn't seem possible as FSU was rolling to nine straight conference titles after joining the league. There are at least three programs that are in place to make a long-range challenge to the Seminoles' dominance: N.C. State, Virginia and Maryland.
Georgia Tech might be added to that group if Chan Gailey can find away to overcome the injury bug that plagued his inaugural team this year, and Clemson would at least like to be listed among that group, though the Tigers have yet to prove anything under Tommy Bowden.
This might be a surprise to those who aren't paying close attention, but as a group, the ACC has better football coaches than it does basketball coaches right now, and they are intent on taking their programs to the highest level of college football.
It's true that no one else in the league has sustained the success of
Florida State. But name a program in the country that can match the dominance the Seminoles had during their 14-year stay in the Top 5 of the final polls? This is, after all, the Seminoles' 21st consecutive trip to a bowl game.
Sure, someone needs to step over the Seminoles -- and stay there for a while, at least -- before the national people will take it seriously. But based on FSU's performance the last two years, that day may be coming soon.
How will the world feel if next year's preseason predictions for the conference race look something like this?
1. N.C. State
2. Virginia
3. Maryland
4. Florida State
That's not a lock. But the Wolfpack has a huge opportunity to prove itself against Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, and may well have the best crop of newcomers of any team in the league. Virginia had that distinction this year, as ACC Coach of the Year Al Groh opted to play his best players, most of whom happened to be freshmen. And Maryland was again exceptionally good under second-year coach Ralph Friedgen, even though the Terps played without tailback Bruce Perry most of the year and were unsettled at quarterback until about midway through the season.
The times are changing in the ACC. From the outside, it may look like
Florida State's elevator is going down. In truth, several other elevators are going up -- and are on the verge of catching up to the Seminoles.
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Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe listened carefully when Baylor came to call, but decided he would rather be at Wake than Waco. His phone will likely be ringing again, if he continues to have a winning program in Winston-Salem. The simple fact is, Wake Forest has the weakest football tradition of any ACC school. That's not surprising since it has one of the smallest enrollments, 3,950, in NCAA Division I-A. The Demon Deacons have never been ranked in the top 10 and this year's 6-6 record, coupled with last year's 6-5 mark, represents only the third time since the ACC was formed 50 years ago that the Deacons have had back-to-back non-losing seasons.
Grobe is an excellent coach, with a reputation for turning around struggling programs. He has a great offensive system that befuddles and frustrates opposing defenses.
A Virginia graduate, Grobe likes being back on the East Coast, but he has lived the vagabond life of a coach for nearly 30 years, so relocating isn't really a problem, though he didn't necessarily want to do it again after only two years.
His phone will be ringing again, especially if the Deacons can beat Oregon in the Seattle Bowl, then put together another winning season next year. The last time Wake had three consecutive non-losing seasons was 1950-52, just before it jumped from the Southern Conference to the ACC.
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HOT:
Florida State vs. Georgia
The Sugar Bowl matches Bobby Bowden's experience against the wits of his former offensive coordinator, Mark Richt.
NOT:
Virginia coach Al Groh's praises for the bowl system
The former head coach of the New York Jets has always been in favor of a playoff system; now his feelings are even stronger.
HOT:
Continental Tire Bowl
The first-year game at Charlotte's Ericsson Stadium had the fourth pick from the Big East and the fifth pick from the ACC, yet got the teams that finished second in both leagues; A Virginia-West Virginia matchup is a great debut for the inaugural bowl.
NOT:
North Carolina, Duke in the offseason
It's hard to be sitting at home, as the Tar Heels and Blue Devils will be, while everyone else is out partying at a postseason bowl game.
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 ACC
office
League officials pulled the necessary strings to prevent bowl-eligible Wake Forest from getting shut out of postseason play for the second year in a row.
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North Carolina defensive tackle Carl Smalls, 22, was shot and killed at a Columbia, S.C., club. Smalls, who had transferred to North Carolina from South Carolina, was at a party that included former teammates and players from several other South Carolina colleges. He was shot three times and died at the scene. No motive or suspects have been identified. … Georgia Tech will be making its sixth consecutive bowl appearance, the school's best stretch since 1951-56. At 20-10 all-time, the Yellow Jackets have the nation's best winning percentage in postseason play. … Clemson assistant Rodney Allison resigned his position to become head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga, likely leaving the Tigers one assistant short for the Dec. 23 Tangerine Bowl. … Tigers coach Tommy Bowden admitted that he talked with Baylor about the job that was eventually filled by former Kentucky coach Guy Morriss. Bowden denied reports in Texas newspapers that said negotiations between Bowden and Baylor broke down because the school refused to buy out the remaining six years of his contract with the Tigers. … N.C. State fans, anticipating the possibility of playing Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, had bought more than 21,000 tickets to the Jan. 1 game as of Monday.
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